Many types of conventional fluid valves for regulating the flow of a fluid are known in the art. Such conventional fluid valves include butterfly valves, ball valves, globe valves, sluice valves, dual-plate check valves, swing check valves, single and double poppet valves, and rotary valves. These and other types of conventional fluid valves are commonly used to regulate the flow of a gaseous or pressurized fluid, such as exhaust gas or intake air, through a conduit.
Gaseous or pressurized fluid flow is particularly sensitive to restrictions or obstructions in the conduit. Such restrictions or obstructions induce an increase in backpressure (e.g., pressure drop) within the conduit or reduce a maximum flow rate through the conduit, which can result in various inefficiencies within a system, such as low fuel efficiency within an internal combustion engine. Many conventional fluid valves include components for actuating a flap or flow restriction element. For example, a traditional butterfly valve includes a shaft that extends across a diameter of the fluid conduit. While these components (e.g., shafts) may not significantly affect the backpressure or fluid flow rate when the valve is partially closed, because the valve position can be adjusted to compensate for such conditions, the components can significantly affect the backpressure or fluid flow rate when the valve is fully opened.
Additionally, when used to regulate gaseous or pressurized fluid, the torque required to actuate conventional fluid valves can be sensitive to the pressure of the fluid. For example, at higher fluid pressures, more torque is required to maintain a position of conventional fluid valves and/or actuate a conventional fluid valve into a new position. Additionally, at higher pressures, the ability to accurately control the position of conventional fluid valves is degraded. Moreover, conventional fluid valves tend to result in an increase in the seating velocity of the valve when sealed, which tends to increase the impact loads on the valve actuators.
Other conventional valves are used for regulating the flow of viscous fluids and materials, such as gravity-fed metering valves. While such conventional valves may be useful for flow regulation of viscous fluids and materials, they are not conducive to regulating the flow of substantially non-viscous, gaseous fluids, such as exhaust and air, because they do not adequately address fluctuating pressure and actuation torque concerns. Moreover, some conventional valves for regulating the flow of viscous fluids and materials